Forest campaigners to meet minister for forestry policy, Lord Taylor

Tomorrow I join 5 other forest campaigners and head to London to meet with the minister responsible for forest policy in England, Lord Taylor of Holbeach.

We will discuss our concerns, hopes and dreams and learn about the process that goes into creating new policy but more than anything I hope to secure a strong line of communication between forest campaigners and policy makers for the coming months. This time is so important as it is the time Government will be making their decisions on the future of our forests. To have a direct line to the policy makers at such a critical time will hopefully do away with the chinese whispers that build up, cause mistrust and that potentially obstruct positive work.

However.. we are of course aware that in politics nothing is ever quite as straight forward as you’d hope. So don’t be concerned that we are going to be held back campaigning as hard as we always have, if need be.

The Forestry Panel publish their report this wednesday, 4th July, first thing in the morning. The Government expect to respond to the Forestry panels report in January 2013. The time in between is where you and I need to be vigilant and keep talking with the policy makers to ensure they hear directly from those of us engaged with our forests and the issues surrounding them.

An exciting initiative born out of the Government's response to the Save Our Forests campaign, bringing together foresters, wood based industries, environmental charities, woodland owners and all those who love our forests to help create a thriving and sustainable WOOD CULTURE in Britain.